miercuri, aprilie 08, 2009

A Fabergé egg is any one of sixty-nine jeweled eggs made by Peter Carl Fabergé and his assistants between 1885 and 1917. 24 eggs were made and presented to Czars Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia. A further two eggs were planned but not delivered, the Constellation and Karelian Birch eggs of 1917. Seven of the eggs were made for the Kelch family of Moscow. The eggs are made of precious metals or hard stones decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. The term "Fabergé egg" has become a synonym of luxury and the eggs are regarded as masterpieces of the jeweller's art.Carl Fabergé and his goldsmiths designed and constructed the first egg in 1885. It was commissioned by Czar Alexander III of Russia as an Easter surprise for his wife Maria Fyodorovna. On the outside it looked like a simple egg of white enameled gold, but it opened up to reveal a golden yolk. The yolk itself had a golden hen inside it, which in turn had a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside, reminiscent of the matryoshka nesting dolls. Empress Maria was so delighted by this gift that Alexander appointed Fabergé a "Court Supplier" and commissioned an Easter gift each year thereafter, stipulating only that it be unique and contain a surprise. His son, Nicholas II of Russia continued the tradition, annually presenting an egg each spring to his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna as well as his then-widowed mother.From 1885, the eggs were produced almost every year. Once an initial design was approved, the work was carried out by an entire team of artisans under Peter Carl Fabergé, among them Michael Perkhin, Henrik Wigström and Erik August Kollin. The Imperial eggs enjoyed such fame that Fabergé made some 15 known eggs for private clients. Among them is a series of 7 eggs made for the industrialist Alexander Kelch. In addition, 8 eggs were made. They are not as extravagant as the Imperial eggs, and are not as original, often repeating designs that originated with the Imperial eggs.Location of eggs: Of the 105 known Fabergé eggs, only sixty-nine have survived to the present day. The vast majority of them are stored in public museums, with the greatest number, thirty, in Russia. There are fifty-four known Imperial eggs, only forty-six of which have survived. Of the lost eight Imperial eggs, photographs only exist of two, the 1903 Royal Danish, and the 1909 Alexander III Commemorative eggs. Only one, 1916's Order of St. George egg, left Bolshevik Russia with its original recipient, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The rest remained in Petrograd. Following the Russian Revolution, the House of Fabergé was nationalized by the Bolsheviks, and the Fabergé family fled to Switzerland, where Peter Carl Fabergé died in 1920.[7] The Romanov palaces were ransacked and their treasures moved on order of Vladimir Lenin to the Kremlin Armoury. In a bid to acquire more foreign currency, Joseph Stalin had many of the eggs sold in 1927, after their value had been appraised by Agathon Fabergé. Between 1930 and 1933 fourteen Imperial eggs left Russia. Many of the eggs were sold to Armand Hammer, president of Occidental Petroleum and a personal friend of Lenin, whose father was founder of the United States Communist party, and Emanuel Snowman of the London antique dealers Wartski. After the collection in the Kremlin Armoury, the largest gathering of Fabergé eggs was assembled by Malcolm Forbes, and displayed in New York City. Totalling nine eggs, and approximately 180 other Fabergé objects, the collection was put up for auction at Sotheby's in February 2004 by Forbes' heirs. Before the auction even began the collection was purchased in its entirety by the oligarch Victor Vekselberg for a sum estimated between $90 and $120 million. In November 2007, a Fabergé clock, named by Christie's auction house as the Rothschild egg sold at auction for £8.9 million (including commission). The price achieved set two records for auction: it is the most expensive timepiece ever sold at auction and the most expensive Russian object, including previous Faberge Eggs, ever sold at auction, surpassing the $9.6 million sale of the 1913 Winter egg in 2002.

sâmbătă, aprilie 04, 2009

There is a SECRET PASSAGE through which we must passWhether it is your first day on earth or it is your lastIt can be that you are brought through the waters of the birth canalOr you die suddenly while sipping tea with your best palIt is inconceivable to think that you will not go through thisIt is as much of life as a good morning kissThe Creator has his own way of letting us knowThat through the SECRET PASSAGE we must come and goWhether the Angel of Birth is waiting for the child to be bornOr the Angel of Death comes to blow his golden hornWe all come and go through the powers of loveAs the Creator looks down upon us from above

"As I stumble through this life, help me createmore laughter than tears, dispense more happinessthan gloom, spread more cheer than despair.Never let me become so indifferent that I will failto see the wonder in the eyes of a child or thetwinkle in the eyes of the aged.Never let me forget that my total effort is to cheer people,make them happy and forget at least momentarilyall the unpleasantness in their lives.And, in my final moment, may I hear youwhisper: when you made My people smile,you made Me smile."

Living thoughts

Become silent.In your silence, all questions will disappear. And the dance will begin, whatever the figure! Because as far as your inner being is concerned, it has no figure; it is just a luminous flame which can dance. It has been eternally there, repressed by you. You are the greatest enemy of yourself. My effort is to turn you into the greatest friend of yourself. (OSHO)Non-Mentalul e Realizare.Non-Mentalul e Iluminare.Non-Mentalul e Eliberare.(OSHO)